This invention relates to a method of keying a pattern into a complimentary sealing ring and reel which are normally mated when assembled at some time during their use. The pattern is such that it will allow the mating of a particular sealing ring with a particular complimentary reel, but will prevent the mating of a particular sealing ring with any other reel.
Various forms of sealing rings and reels are currently available for computer tape. It is general practice to store a particular reel, with its particular sealing ring attached, alongside other particular reels with their particular sealing rings attached. The reels with their attached sealing rings are stored side by side, flat side of a reel along flat side of an adjacent reel. The reels are usually made visually indentifiable by attaching a label. The particular sealing ring associated with a particular reel also has a label attached, the label bearing the same identification as contained on the label of the reel to which the sealing ring is attached. In storage the label of the sealing ring is exposed to view to distinguish one assembly from among its neighbors.
When it is desired to use a particular reel of computer tape on computer related equipment, the particular reel with its attached sealing ring, as identified by the visually exposed label on the sealing ring, is removed from storage. Once the reel and the attached sealing ring are removed from storage, the identity of the reel is verified by the label attached thereto.
When the reel is to be used on computer associated equipment, the attached sealing ring must first be removed. From that point in time, until the sealing ring is reattached, the identity of the reel is dependent upon its attached label. When the use of the reel is no longer required, its particular sealing ring is reattached and the assembly is returned to side by side storage with similar assemblies.
It is not uncommon for many reels of computer tape to be in use in a particular computer associated area at a given point in time. Also, it is not uncommon, when reassembling sealing rings and reels, after use, that the sealing ring reapplied to a particular reel is mistakenly that which came from another reel. Thus, when the assembly is returned to storage, the identity of the particular reel, as indicated by the label on the visually exposed edge of the sealing ring, does not correspond to the reel which the sealing ring encircles. Locating a reel in storage, mistakenly encircled by other than its own particular sealing ring, creates difficulty which this invention seeks to avoid.